BCG Daily Wednesday 21st May 2025

Eric Morecambe's The Reluctant Vampire to star Lenny Rush

The BBC has cast Lenny Rush as the star in an adaptation of comedy icon Eric Morecambe's 1982 children's novel The Reluctant Vampire.

Only Child to return for Series 2

The BBC has announced that Gregor Fisher and Greg McHugh are to return in a second series of Only Child, the BBC One sitcom following the exploits of a squabbling father and son.

The Young Offenders Series 5 confirmed

The Young Offenders has been given the green light for a fifth series on BBC One.

Funboys to return for four more episodes

A second series of Funboys has been confirmed by BBC Three, with four new episodes set to go into production.

Rob Brydon to star in sitcom Bill's Included from The Pin

Acclaimed comedy duo The Pin - Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen - have written a new BBC One sitcom, Bill's Included, which will star Rob Brydon.

Diane Morgan sitcom Ann Droid coming to BBC One

Diane Morgan's next BBC One sitcom will see her star as a humanoid robot, in what is described as "a buddy comedy between an older woman and her robot who isn't quite as advanced socially as she is technically".

Mackenzie Crook's magical comedy Small Prophets brought to life by BBC

Michael Palin, Sophie Willan and Detectorists' Pearce Quigley are to star in Mackenzie Crook's long-term passion project, a partly-animated, magical comedy drama for the BBC. Small Prophets is currently shooting in Manchester.

Guz Khan & Morgana Robinson get Stuffed in BBC Christmas comedy caper

Guz Khan, Morgana Robinson and Sue Johnston are to star in a multi-faith, latter-day version of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation for BBC One, with Stuffed described as a "Christmas caper for the whole family to enjoy this Yuletide season".

The BBC orders more from The Golden Cobra

The BBC has ordered an expanded second series of its cult animated comedy The Golden Cobra, with a further 12 episodes of the 10-minute sitcom about Ebbw Vale's worst takeaway commissioned for BBC Three and BBC One Wales.

Ian Stone to search for life's missing magic in 2026 tour

New stand-up show Ian Stone Is Looking For The Wow will tour between January and June 2026.

Ricky Gervais on Walk of Fame

Ricky Gervais will be honoured with the 2,813th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday 30th May.

British Comedy Quiz #358

Butterflies, The Hippopotamus, a Boost bar and Malcolm Tucker are amongst the topics in this week's quiz.

Jon Petrie's BBC Comedy Festival 2025 speech: "Financially we're all flapping our arms"

The full transcript of the speech BBC Director of Comedy Jon Petrie delivered at the BBC Comedy Festival 2025. One of his key messages was that, due to the rising costs of making TV comedy, the BBC is refocusing commissioning around "what's real and possible now".

My Comedy Career: Elf Lyons

Performer Elf Lyons gives some really thoughtful and honest answers on topics such as being original in comedy and how to progress despite industry barriers.

RHLSTP with Richard Herring: RHLSTP 562 - Amy Hoggart

71 minutes

RHLSTP #562 - Egg Cupboard Richard has had a life-changing accident on the way to the theatre, but hopefully a chat with Amy Hoggart will distract him from his woes....